Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

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Festival floats (2014)
Dancer (2017)

The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese carnaval do Rio or carnaval carioca ) officially starts on the Friday before Ash Wednesday and is one of the main attractions of the city. The multi-colored parade of the samba schools is one of the largest festivals in the world.

history

The carnival was celebrated for the first time in 1840. At that time polka and waltz were danced, the samba was only added in 1917 through the influence of Brazilians of African descent.

More recently, the carnival has been exposed to increasing hostility from radical, fundamentalist Christians. Topics such as diversity, homosexuality, environmental protection and art are addressed, and violence against women, which is very pronounced in Brazil, is also addressed more intensively. A dark-skinned Jesus Christ in a woman's body aroused the anger of the Catholic Church:

“The Mangueira Samba School from Rio de Janeiro practices blasphemy and even goes so far as to say that our Lord has the body of a woman! We will say in a loud voice: No to this cultural Marxism, no to Mangueira, no to the disfigurement of our Lord Jesus Christ. "

- Frederico Viotti :

The current mayor, Marcelo Crivella , an evangelical , has stayed away from the ceremony since 2017, halving the city's financial contribution for 2018 and leaving the keys to the head of the city's tourist office. Because of its roots in the Afro-Brazilian religions, he describes the carnival as “unchristian excess”. In 2020, Crivella cut all government subsidies from the organizers.

Opening ritual, framework conditions

The city administration gives King Momo , the symbol of the carnival, an oversized key. In a blue costume with a "Rei Momo" sash, accompanied by the carnival queen and two princesses, he declares the carnival open.

It was hoped for 1.5 million tourists. 17,000 police officers should improve the security situation.

Organization and samba schools

The carnival is organized by the city's tourist office in collaboration with the League of Samba Schools Liga Independente das Escolas de Samba do Rio de Janeiro (LIESA). But the broadcasting TV stations usually also have a say.

Each Escola de Samba chooses a specific theme every year, the floats are then decorated accordingly and the costumes matched. Then details such as rhythm , choreography , presentation, teamwork etc. are coordinated. Most of the magnificently costumed kings, queens, princesses and baianas (in the baggy , white costumes of Bahian women) have worked hard all year round to be able to afford the costumes they wear here for just a few hours.

Every year a school - all divided into four leagues, just like in football - with the best score from the first division moves up to the Grupo Especial . There is a cash prize for the winners of the Grupo Especial , but almost more important is the honor of being a member of a winning school in this group.

Order and evaluation

The order of the individual parades of the Grupo Especial is determined by the lot, there are 6 samba schools on Carnival Sunday and Monday. Each of these Escolas has 3,000 to 5,000 participants, divided into up to 40 groups with 5 to 8 floats (which, for safety reasons, can only be pulled by hand), each of which has exactly 120 minutes for their parade (change from 2009). Exceeding or falling short of this time limit costs you valuable points.

Among other things, there are “the rhythmic precision of the drummers, the way in which singing, drumming and dance are coordinated, the artistic implementation of the theme, the presentation of the flag bearer ( porta estandarte, which traditionally precedes every move with the mestre sala ) and the 'master of ceremonies' ( mestre sala ) as well as the coherence of the escola appearance as a whole ”(Tiago de Oliveira Pinto and Dudu Tucci : Samba and Sambistas in Brazil, Wilhelmshaven 1992, page 36).

The grandstands of the Sambódromo in the Estácio district, which was built in just 120 days according to plans by Oscar Niemeyer in 1984, have a seat for 88,500 spectators. The parades begin in the 700 meter long arena at 9 p.m. and last around 10 hours per festival day. This means that the last parade will be held in the light of the following morning.

On Ash Wednesday around noon, the points are counted (40 judges, 4 each for the 10 evaluation categories), which is broadcast live on TV channels across the country. The victory celebration is duly celebrated like a soccer world championship with fireworks and celebrations of the victorious Escola de Samba . Even those who come in second or third get money into the club's treasury.

The preparation

Preparations for the carnival for the following year begin immediately after the annual parade and each club uses thousands of members as professional employees. The high production costs are also borne by the private sponsors: however, the individual participants in the parades literally save their own personal costumes, which have to be bought by each porter.

A small carnival museum within the Sambodromo, which can be visited all year round, with its English-speaking staff, offers a good opportunity to better understand the tradition and details of the Rio Carnival.

Also very well known and perhaps more musically diversified are the carnival in Salvador da Bahia , which is considered the largest street carnival in the world, and the one in Recife .

literature

  • Felipe Ferreira. O Livro de Ouro do Carnaval Brasileiro. Ediouro, Rio de Janeiro 2004, ISBN 85-00-01480-6 .

Web links

Commons : Rio de Janeiro Carnival  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. https://www.cheapfaremart.com/blog/rio-de-janeiro-carnival-2019-travel-guide/
  2. a b Carnival in Rio: Shrill, colorful and harshly criticized
  3. Philipp Lichterbeck: Brazil: Is the carnival threatened with the end? In: Der Tagesspiegel . December 19, 2017, accessed on February 23, 2020.
  4. World famous Rio de Janeiro Carnival has started orf.at, February 9, 2018, accessed February 9, 2018.